Thoughts from a liberal who isn't the least bit leftist

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It is apparent to me that there is a fundamental conflict in our society between those who pay taxes and those who benefit from them. Those who benefit from taxes include government employees and those who receive benefits from entitlement programs.

The Obama Administration is clearly on the side of the second group. The President is using the differences between the two groups to strengthen his base and promote his agenda. The problem is, what happens when the taxpayers decide they have had enough?

It appears that the Democratic politicians have the same problem with showing up for work that their Wisconsin counterparts do. My state legislators are there doing there job, but I will certainly be supporting any Republican candidate in next election who runs against an AWOL Democrat. I may only donate $5, but I will support them.

Having recently observed GM and Chrysler go through bankruptcy, and since many states are currently headed that way, with California and Illinois in the lead all driven there by the cost of union wages and benefits, I have to wonder what is the purpose of a labor union?

Unless the purpose of a labor union is to drive the organization employing its members bankrupt, I have to conclude that labor unions have failed miserably.

There are two very obviously conflicting accounts in the mainstream media about Islam. Is it violent or is it peaceful? We have to tell the truth. I honestly don’t know. Now everyone who reads this post and is politically to the left of me is going to say, well you bigot, it is obviously a peaceful religion. Everyone to the right of me is going to say it is a violent religion and call me a naive fool for asking. Both groups miss the point.

The point is that Islam is in the midst of an identity crisis, much like the Church went through at the time of the Reformation. There are Muslim like the late Salman Taseer who are peaceful. However, there are also violent fanatics who have no problem murdering him in the name of Islam. Likewise there are Muslims in Egypt who are decent peaceful people who stand up to the violent fanatics. It is one thing to say you are a peace loving person, and it is quite another to say to a stranger of different beliefs, we are different, but people who claim to believe what I believe want to blow you up, and if they want to blow you up, they are going to have to blow me up too.

I can’t tell you whether the real followers of Islam are peaceful or violent, because they are still deciding it. The reason for the desperate and despicable acts of 9/11, and the suicide bombers the world over (especially those who blow up other followers of Islam) is that the violent fanatics are afraid they are losing.

I’m sorry to hear that you’re expected to contribute more to your health insurance and retirement, because you’ve negotiated such a good deal for yourselves that you’re driving your employer broke. I’m also sorry to hear that having been driven broke by you, that your employer can’t give you the pay raise that you’ve come to expect.

I work for a private company. We actually have to convince people to give us money in exchange for products and services. I actually had a good year last year, as I got a modest pay raise for the first time in years. I’d love to help you with your problems, but you see, I have to pay for 100% of my retirement. I’ve also had to pay much higher utility bills than usual, because an unemployed friend has been staying with us instead of living on the street.

But don’t worry about me, I’m doing fine. If you can bring yourself to think about someone other than yourselves, why don’t you think about the one American in ten who wants to work but can’t find a job? Or the millions of Americans who have given up looking for work, who can only find part time work, or are otherwise underemployed.

On second thought, you are right to worry solely about yourselves, as I’m about ready to write my elected representatives and suggest we fire all of you and give “your” jobs to all those nice people I mentioned in the previous paragraph. I’m sure they would be so grateful for the chance to work, that they’d do the job better and for less money. Also I’m sure that even if we couldn’t afford to give them pay raises next year, they would still be grateful for the chance to work.

By the way, I won’t be filing my taxes until April 15th this year, because I’m going to keep checking my return until then to make sure I don’t pay one cent over the amount I’m legally required to pay.

Sincerely,

A Taxpayer

Update: I should clarify, I don’t live in Wisconsin. I live in a nearby state. However we still have public employees who are almost as self-absorbed as those in Wisconsin. I live just outside a major city where the members of the police union voted to provide a lawyer for a cop who is accused of causing a fatal accident while drunk and on duty. They have every right to do so, I’m just wondering if they realize how much political capital they are expending to do so.

I didn’t hold out much hope for the President’s proposed budget. President Obama’s budget proposal is even worse than I thought it would be. Most of his “savings” are either reducing future increases or are coming from gimmicks.

I think the GOP proposal to cut $100 Billion from the federal budget is unacceptable, solely because it is too small. As others have pointed out, cutting the budget is going to hurt. However if we don’t make relatively small but painful cuts now, the larger cuts required that will be required instead are going to be even more painful. If we never bring spending under control, then we only get to choose between hyperinflation or defaulting on the debt.

The very real pain imposed by hyperinflation or defaulting on the debt would make even the most severe budget cuts look like a walk in the park. The desperation of dealing with hyperinflation brought Adolph Hitler to power. The economic aftermath of a default on the debt would also be very ugly.

I will have more to say about the President’s budget proposal after I see an independent analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. I think their analysis will be more accurate than the analysis contained in the proposed budget.

Of course Obama has plans for a major investment in nuclear energy. How else could GE make a profit? I support nuclear energy as well, but I think it’s not just a coincidence that GE would profit from Obama policy.

I’m off celebrating Valentine’s Day with the most wonderful woman in the world. Four years ago, she was wondering if I would ever ask her to marry me. Four years ago I got up from the dinner table at one of the nicest places we’ve had dinner and walked around the table, knelt down on one knee and said, “Will you marry me?”

Three decades ago, I was playing computer games like this one. Only they were run in BASIC, not web based games. Sometimes I wonder if any of our economic policy makers played games like Hamurabi when they were in school.

I think the policy of the government of the United States should be to apply subtle but continuous pressure to our “allies” that are dictatorships to liberalize. So that when the dictatorship eventually falls, it transitions to a government which is more free and more liberal. In other words, I’m saying that we should hope for transitions to democracy like Chile, not “revolutions” like Iran.